Ten distinguished personalities, including four Women, from seven of the eight northeastern states were conferred Padma Shri Awards in different fields. The four women are Shakuntala Choudhary of Assam for social work while Lourembam Bino Devi and Muktamani Devi, both from Manipur, were recognised for their contributions in art and trade and , respectively, and Badaplin War of Meghalaya in the field of Literature and Education.
Choudhury, the 102-year-old Gandhian social worker from Kamrup, is popularly known as ‘Shankuntala Baideo’. Veteran applique textile artist Lourembam Bino Devi, 77, famous for preserving the Leeba textile art of Manipur for over five decades while Muktamani Devi, 49, is an inspirational woman entrepreneur exporting and popularising handcrafted woollen shoes. War, 60, a scholar and author, has been always promoting Meghalaya’s Khasi language globally.